tryingtosurvive: fluoxetine tapering

[tryingtosurvive]

I am on the edge of taking benzo (oxascand) to stand this anxiety that is now everyday one month altering dose 5mg, 10mg, 2,5mg and now since 2 weeks holding on 5 mg due to your former advices ... But the anxiety is making me crazy!!!! I can't function or focus all day!!! only evenings it feels a bit easier ... but all day everyday now I feel like I am loosing it!!! what to do ? Try Benzo untill it passes ? ... don't really dare but loosing friends and family no one can help me and they get tired of me being like this since 3 months now !!

Altostrata copy it here too since I really need to understand what to do! I am really confused ! You say different things  to me : now you told me last to reduce the dose 50% from 5 mg to 2,5 mg again ? what happened to stabilizing on one dose ?? like bubble and you and the others said before ? why do you think I am bad on the 5 mg ?? I thought you said that the anxiousness is from me altering the dose last month ? and/or the withdrawal and cold turkey that happened 3-4 months ago ? AND that the only way was to give the brain exactely the same dose every day !! why do you think I am having a bad reaction on 5 mg *?? please explain how you think !

 

please get back to me on this ASAP!

thnks guys if I survive this I owe you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Petunia]

Hi Trying,

I'm sorry you are feeling confused, I agree that it can be difficult to know what to think when you get different advice from different people, and then that advice changes.  Alto has a lot of experience helping people safely come off these drugs, but she doesn't always have the time to explain everything or the reason behind every suggestion to everyone each time she posts a suggestion.

 

Reinstatement and tapering are not exact sciences, its more of an art.  We have general guidelines for what works for most people most of the time.  But based on individual circumstances and what you report is happening to you, we sometimes suggest doing something else, which may be more appropriate or more helpful to you.  Nothing is guaranteed to work, everyone is different and no one can accurately predict the effect these drugs are going to have on everyone, but we do the best we can based on the information you give us.

 

Based on what you last wrote, it sounds like you may be having an adverse reaction:

 

• The dose needed for effective reinstatement varies according to the individual.
• Sometimes reinstatement does not work. The nervous system has taken such a hard hit from withdrawal, it's destabilized beyond whatever effect the drug might have had.
• Sometimes reinstatement not only does not work, it causes an adverse reaction from a nervous system sensitized by withdrawal. If you have an immediate bad reaction, reduce or stop taking the drug.
  
  If, upon reinstatement, you very soon feel worse, most likely you are sensitized to the drug and need to take a smaller dosage or, possibly, none at all.

Please read through  About reinstating and stabilizing to stop withdrawal symptoms

[tyson]

Hi, My advice would be from the people I met who took psychiatric meds and some from the books I read on withdrawal, Not from the conventional medical advice. Therefore, first you should reduce your dose by 10% from your present dose then stay there till you think you are stable at that dose. Then reduce another 10% from the dose you have at hand. If you feel it is too much for you, you should reduce from 5%_8% of the dose. But don't go to benzo for more than a week. You will have hard time tapering benzo than other meds. I'm not sure what you mean by 10mg, 5mg, 2.5mg. If you altering your meds dose, you confusing your brain and you will have more problem. Pls. stay on one dose that you think you are stable and stay with it for long time, at least six weeks and then check your body. 

hope this can help. this is  not medical advice, but my experienced opinion. 

take care

[tryingtosurvive]

How do I now it is an adverse reaction??? I mean before taking the drug I am shaking a lot and then afterwards I feel  alot of anxiety ....

people on paxilprogress told me to reinstate on higher dose again and then taper from there ....

but how much do I dare to take ????

35 mg they suggested ... what if I do 20 mg ?

reinstate rather then benzos ??? or ?? Ican't take this !!

some of you says wait it out with this the same dose some says quit it completely and some of you says reinstate!
:/://////:/:/:/:/:/
what to do ???

[tryingtosurvive]

post moved from the Tepering section 

 

increased to 10 mg this morning from advice from P****** just after the dose I felt numb in head but 5 hours after dose I got panic attack anxiety again!! Is it a sign that Am I having bad reactions to the med ? is it kindling effect ? Should I do like some of you said and take it out ? now what ? And what to say to my boyfriend to make him understand ? he don't trust the forum ....

now the TCM practitioner he gives  me last chance to try his herbs ... (I have been doubting back and forth ) and I rather do that then benzos .. I think .or what would you do ?

 

 

Grateful to your response!

//

[tryingtosurvive]

* post moved from tapering section

 

tried 10 mg again since yesterday but really the anxiety is just getting worse, like if I had 10 cops of coffee but cant do anything (

lying paralysed in anxiety!! so is it a reversed effect ??? should I consider not taking so much of the drug and try to get it out of my system again ?

also have diarrea again.

 

Read a bit aout naturepat you tried ... is TCM practitioner one of those you tried ??

Did you try chinese herbs?

 

Please,  grateful to your answers!

//

Edited November 17, 2014 by bubble
added note about moving

[tryingtosurvive]

* post moved from tapering section

 

it is how I deal with it you say : how to deal with the anxiety then ??? any good therpies ???

I have a lot of things I should have done that is stressing me but can't make my self do it ....://///

is one of the things to deal with anxiety to do things anyway ???

or is it to wait untill the anxiety has passed??

Grateful to your reply!!

Edited November 17, 2014 by bubble
added note about moving

[bubble]

Trying, I understand that you are in distress and feeling awful but can you please try to post your questions in your thread here which serves for updates so that we don't have to move them from the Tapering section over and over again?

 

Having all your updates here in one place enables both us but also you to monitor your situation.

 

All I can say at the moment is that however hard it is you should try and calm down and accept the fact that for some time you won't be feeling well. It's very hard for me to say anything about your situation based on the way you decribe it because I can't understand whether your symptoms got worse or not. I in particular can't understand from your description whether your situation got worse after you stopped changing the dose and were taking 5 mg for 2 weeks or you were simply impatient with the fact that the symptoms didn't go away.

 

You made it sound as if you were feeling worse than before and that's why Alto suggested going to 2.5 mg. But our suggestions are based on what you report to us and if you write in panic that you are worse, worse, worse all the time and can't give at least a little objective assessment of your state, our suggestions will be wrong in return.

 

So anything we say is based on your report and if you can't be patient enough to record what you are going through, we can't suggest much. 

 

That's why at this moment I think that the best and the most difficult thing would be to accept the situation as it is. 

 

My impression is that you didn't feel as well as expected after 2 weeks of trying to stabilise at 5 mg and in your impatience you did something that made you even worse.

 

Who advised you to go to 10 mg? Also it is important that we hear just give our opinion and suggestions based on our experience and based on what you report but it is up to you to get yourself sufficiently informed to make the decision.

 

Who advised you to go to 10 mg?

 

I manage anxiety by carrying out my usual tasks if possible but at a much slower pace than usually. If it is particularly bad I take a break from my activities and completely focus on getting better and doing things that soothe me. I find gentle walks in nature particularly calming. Sometimes I just accept that this is the way I feel at a given moment and accept that I can't do much in way of my normal activity. For instance, on Saturday I allowed myself to get into the bad way I was feeling completely. I spent the whole day in bed reading a book because I was awfully tired and had no energy so I allowed myself to be like that. But on Sunday despite still feeling the lack of energy I gently pushed myself to do my regular activities but much slower than usually. That's how I manage. Other people have different strategies. But the key is acceptance knowing that it is just temporary. 

 

Unfortunately not many people can understand what we are going through. Not even those who care about us so this is a very lonely situation. But if we understand ourselves and their position it is easier to bear. 

[Altostrata]

TRYING, READ THIS AGAIN.

 

trying, I moved this post from the Tapering forum:
 

I wake up with shaking and with a stress in my body take the 5 mg plus magnesium feel a bit warm but then extreeme anxiety that comes in attacks during all day can't focus be social or work! and at night I am exhausted!!!
Have tried 5 mg exactely since 2 weeks now : no improvement om staying on exact dose like you said ... so what sould I do!!!??
give this dose longer time ? take anthistamne (thats the option to benzo the doctors give me here for anxiety and wait it out ? decrease ?? or increase :///?
Feel I am going crazy!! scary lik loosing control!!
maybe It just makes things worse taking it ??? since I was withoutb the drug in my body for 2 months ...but now that was 2 months ago ....
what to do ?????
please ...! help!!

 

It sounds to me like you are having a bad reaction to 5mg. If I were you, I'd try 2.5mg.

 

I don't know if an antihistamine would help or not.

 

From what you're reporting, it sounds like you might be reacting badly to 5mg. This is only my guess, as a non-doctor peer counselor. That is why I suggested a reduction to 2.5mg.

 

If you are reacting badly to 5mg, you will react worse to 10mg.

[geminigirl]

I would listen to the people on here TRYING, rather than the doctors or other people.

 

People here have been through it so know what they are talking about, and they want to help versus the doctors who are clueless and have never been through it.

 

You aren't alone here by the way. There are people here who care and understand what you are going through, so talk to us.

[tryingtosurvive]

TRYING, READ THIS AGAIN.

 

trying, I moved this post from the Tapering forum:

 

I wake up with shaking and with a stress in my body take the 5 mg plus magnesium feel a bit warm but then extreeme anxiety that comes in attacks during all day can't focus be social or work! and at night I am exhausted!!!

Have tried 5 mg exactely since 2 weeks now : no improvement om staying on exact dose like you said ... so what sould I do!!!??

give this dose longer time ? take anthistamne (thats the option to benzo the doctors give me here for anxiety and wait it out ? decrease ?? or increase :///?

Feel I am going crazy!! scary lik loosing control!!

maybe It just makes things worse taking it ??? since I was withoutb the drug in my body for 2 months ...but now that was 2 months ago ....

what to do ?????

please ...! help!!

 

It sounds to me like you are having a bad reaction to 5mg. If I were you, I'd try 2.5mg.

 

I don't know if an antihistamine would help or not.

 

From what you're reporting, it sounds like you might be reacting badly to 5mg. This is only my guess, as a non-doctor peer counselor. That is why I suggested a reduction to 2.5mg.

 

If you are reacting badly to 5mg, you will react worse to 10mg.

How will I know it is a bad reaction ? It doesnt come immediately and it comes anyway the anxiety when I take 2,5 mg ...

grateful to your response!

//

[Altostrata]

take the 5 mg plus magnesium feel a bit warm but then extreeme anxiety

 

 

The extreme anxiety sounds like a reaction to the 5mg.

 

You have only 4 choices:

 

- Go down in dosage

- Go up in dosage

- Stay the same

- Quit

 

We can't tell you what to do. You have to choose what's right for you.

[tryingtosurvive]

trying, I moved your posts here, as they pertain to your particular situation.

 

What is your daily symptom pattern? Is worse or better in the evening? How has it changed since you went from 10mg back to 5mg?

 

Was it better when you were taking 10mg? How long did you take 10mg?

If I write under the long thread I am afraid it will all disappear since there is too much to read now so you wont see my new post ...(or do you get notices about new posts even inside long old threads ?)

 

My daily pattern : wake up tired and shaky restles/feeling

taking magnesium, d vitamin and omega 3 . Taking approximately 5 mg fluoxetine ( immediately feel a bit more wined up and anxiuos and warm )

Then it is as if I am on a high level of stress all day , underlying feeling close to or have panicattacks at the same time I am very "tired" and can't stay focused. (I am trying to change work stresses m alot and also my living situation and my boyfriend might change now so a lot of uncertainty at the same time)

 

Then at around later afternoon the anxiety lessen and I just become very very tired .... During evenings I feel sad but also I feel more like my self again...

 

SO : can it still be adverse reactions ?? Should I lessen the 5 mg again ? (did for two days now try 10 mg from advice but I guess I shpouldn't have done that .... just felt more drugged same anxiety... since the beginning of november (almost three weeks now I am trying to follow your advice to stabilize on 5mg .... but still the anxiety is horrible!! 

 

What do you say ? What would you do in my case ...??

 

Also last queastion : could it be good to eat les diary like l´milk if calcium makes anxiousness worsen '?

 

Trying to find a good thearpist but still havent...

 

Thank you again !

//

[tryingtosurvive]

post moved from tapering section

 

Hi,

headache aftre taking the 5 mg  anxiety in attacks all day, can't focus and very tired.

I am not lasting anymore and my boyfriend is about to leave me if I don't get it together. I am suicidal.

'what should I do ? Take highr dose ? take away the one I have and go for benzo for the anxiety ?

Or try chinese herbs ?

 

desperate...

Edited November 21, 2014 by bubble
added note

[Rhiannon]

Please read back through the advice you have been given. Your questions have been addressed already.

 

I know it's hard to calm down and read thoughtfully when you're in horrible WD. Perhaps it would help to read through it several times.

 

You took 5 mg for two weeks and you felt still too over-stimulated. That happens sometimes. As Petu says, reinstatement is an art, not a science, and also it does not always work, it's just something worth trying.  Even when it does work it doesn't fix things 100%, it just gives some improvement.

 

It is not clear to me that you got any improvement with the 5 mg.

 

Since you were still having lots of anxiety on 5 mg, Alto suggested trying a lower dose of 2.5 mg instead.

 

It sounds like on another forum somebody suggested instead that you go to a higher dose of 10 mg, and you did that.

 

I think if you are going to give 10 mg a serious try, you need to stay on it for a while, unless it's obviously making you feel worse than you did on 5 mg.

 

If you are feeling obviously distinctly worse on 10 mg than you did on 5 mg then you may want to take it down slowly to a dose lower than 5 mg.

 

You are in withdrawal. Nothing will fix that except time. All we are hoping for is that our suggestions will give you some small improvement and help you get more stable.

 

Also, I would recommend you pick one forum or the other, rather than bouncing back and forth, if you are going to be taking the advice you get on the different forums. Please pick one strategy and say with it. Switching and changing will only make things worse.

[tryingtosurvive]

* post and following reply moved from tapering section

 

fluoxetine anyone here reinstated and got better with 10 mg?

got the advice to try b-vitamin and valerina ....before raising by a psychiatrist ... what do you say ? should I still raise ? I can't manage staying like this ...as you poor people might understood after all my desperate texts :///

Gratefull to your replies!

Edited November 29, 2014 by Petu
added note

[Abilifyneedhelp88]

Hi,

 

I would like to answer this based on my own personal experience...I am hesitant to give you advice because generally I am not responsible for your medical care however I will tell you what I would do if I were in your shoes......

 

1) It appears by your signature that you are on 5mg currently? and you are wondering if you should go up to 10mg? It looks like you were on 5 considering going to 2.5...and now you are considering going to 10mg?

 

In my experience the only times I reinstated was with Trileptal and Remeron...I reinstated Trileptal thinking I would stabilize...

I didn't...Not everyone who reinstates stabilizes, some do, some don't...It's hit or miss....

 

For remeron which is an AD which fluoxetine is as well...I was on 15mg and then cut to 7.5mg and had to reinstate at 15mg and then taper down incrementally 1.0mg or less each week or hold for 2 weeks...It took me 5.5 months to taper off Remeron with a last dose of 0.45mg..I did a olive oil taper with a crush method...

 

I had experience with fluoxetine in 1987 for about 6 weeks or so...and then that was changed...It was along time ago but I don't remember that as much...

 

I am not sure how you are tapering? bead removal? or other?

 

Valerian in my experience helped at first but got to be problematic because it was giving me headaches and a hangover affect...Valerian has withdrawals as well too....

 

I take B-vitamins now as well...They will provide energy and necessary nutrients for brain function....

 

If you are on 5mg, not sure why you would want to reinstate to 10mg....The w/d will probably be the same and in my opinion for me I didn't want to go backwards in reinstating to higher doses so I remained where I was...If I were you I would try my best to maintain at 5mg and go from there going slower.....For me reinstating just didn't work and psychologically it was better for me to move forward...just making slower cuts...

 

I take 2000mg of L-tryptophan at night and this works for me....for sleep....

 

There are other products you can try for sleep as well...tart cherry, calm forte...melatonin (I stopped this because I read that depression was a side effect and d/c

 There is Lactium which also acts as a milk peptide and this has helped for awhile...I encourage you to browse www.beyondmeds.com for other suggestions if you haven't heard of this site so far....

 

I hope this was helpful...please don't hesitate to PM me if needed....

[Altostrata]

trying, please do not start topics in other forums to get attention for your questions here.

 

As Rhi said, I feel I've done my best to answer your questions here. Please read this topic again.

 

No one here can make your decisions for you. We cannot predict the future. We don't know exactly what you can do to make yourself feel better.

 

We know it takes time to recover from cold turkey. We cannot speed that process for you.

[Petunia]

If I write under the long thread I am afraid it will all disappear since there is too much to read now so you wont see my new post ...(or do you get notices about new posts even inside long old threads ?)

 

 

When you post here in your long thread, it gets highlighted and moves to the top, so we can see that new information has been added.

 

I can't improve on the advice you have already been given here, I wish there was an easy answer. If there was, I would be using it myself.

[tryingtosurvive]

* post moved from tapering section

 

I feel worse after reinstating 10 mg ...more anxiety and panic!!!! (reinstated that since yesterday to feel less anxiety not more!!!!!!) and my heart is beating like crazy and feel sick just after taking the pill! and Babs in P****** said the drug stopped working on me while I was still on it thats why I got brainzaps while taking the 40 mg drug .... but then WHY should I go back on this **** ???
I just want to be out of it now !!!
Can't take this really can't!!!
help me!!!!

what should I do ????

Edited November 24, 2014 by bubble
added note

[bubble]

trying, please do not start topics in other forums to get attention for your questions here.

 

As Rhi said, I feel I've done my best to answer your questions here. Please read this topic again.

 

No one here can make your decisions for you. We cannot predict the future. We don't know exactly what you can do to make yourself feel better.

 

We know it takes time to recover from cold turkey. We cannot speed that process for you.

[Meimeiquest]

I agree with Petu and Alto, but I will also tell you what I am doing experimentally. My new doctor told me to take as many supplements as needed to get off a benzo faster. I don't know what "unintended consequences" this will have, but it is helping. Please note that I am just tapering, not going through cold turkey.

 

The main supplement is inositol; it is much cheaper if you can find it as a loose powder. The typical dose would be about 5ml (a tsp in the US) with more at night if needed (I take three times that dose at bedtime and repeat when I wake up in the night). Increase dose as needed and take as often as needed. I believe the thinking is that inositol is a "second messenger", one of the chemicals that picks up the message from the neurotransmitters. If your receptors aren't working well from AD therapy, having lots and lots of second messengers available will help even a weak signal get through. In theory anyway. A possible side effect is mania, probably from too many signals getting through.

 

The other supplement is taurine. Several of us have used this for cardiac symptoms with good success. There is a thread on it.

 

People in hard WD from cold turkey are really unpredictable; if you decide to try, please start slowly. Please understand I am not recommending this, just telling you of the experiment I am doing.

[Meimeiquest]

Another completely unproven idea...I am possibly half Swedish. Two different doctors told people in my family that people of Swedish descent often can't tolerate omega 3 oils (makes no sense to me with all the fish there) and do better with evening primrose oil, somewhere around 1000mg a day. Again, if you decide to try it, start low and slow.

[Rhiannon]

* post moved from tapering section

 

I feel worse after reinstating 10 mg ...more anxiety and panic!!!! (reinstated that since yesterday to feel less anxiety not more!!!!!!) and my heart is beating like crazy and feel sick just after taking the pill! and Babs in P****** said the drug stopped working on me while I was still on it thats why I got brainzaps while taking the 40 mg drug .... but then WHY should I go back on this **** ???

I just want to be out of it now !!!

Can't take this really can't!!!

help me!!!!

what should I do ????

 

I can't answer a question that comes from something somebody else on another forum told you. You should probably ask them.

 

As I said before, please reread the answers you have already gotten. As Alto says, you have four choices and you have to pick one. I'd highly recommend you choose a course and stay with it; changing med doses around up and down and up and down just makes things worse. And nothing is going to fix you overnight, I'm sorry to say.

 

Also, I'd recommend you pick one forum or the other, and not go back and forth, saying here "well P told me this and I did it and i don't like the results, what do I do now?" and probably saying over there, "well SA told me to do this and I did it and I don't like the results, what do I do know?" We aren't associated with them and we can't coordinate advice with them.

[tryingtosurvive]

Post moved from tapering

got this advice from the uk CITA support help line can it be worth trying again ? maybe 5 mg then ...?? (just took 10mg  for 2 days ..)

 

" Hi Anna,

 

You were told to come off your fluoxetine too quickly, using our approach it should have been done over 8-10 months.  This is why your withdrawal symptoms are so bad. Our experience also is that having come off an antidepressant, it often doesn't feel the same when you return to it after a break.  After having been symptom free and feeling normal on an antidepressant for a long time and then coming off it appropriately slowly, returning to this same drug can result in many problems can be severe and never settle down, and which require a second slow reduction.  This is probably why you have not settled on your 2.5, 5 or 10 mg dose and have had little respite from your symptoms.  However these drugs are very idiosyncratic and unpredictable and it is difficult to predict what would be the best way to proceed, whether you are being made worse by not taking enough drug, or if by continuing to take a low dose you are keeping the addiction going, which not impossible.

 

It is therefore going to be a case of trying something and then seeing whether this helps.  You may have to stabilise on a fixed dose of fluoxetine for a few weeks before there is any benefit, and then begin to reduce off this very slowly.  It must be about about 5-6 months since you were last on 40 mg fluoxetine so your brain chemistry is perhaps still adjusting to somewhere between 5 and 10 mg.  It might be that you stabilise on 5 mg for 4-6 weeks then see how this feels.  It it starts to feel better then stay there a little while longer until you feel stable enough to be able to begin to reduce slowly.

 

The essence of the CITA approach is to reduce a small step at a time, you need to decide what size step, starting on just one day in the week (say Monday) in each of two weeks (weeks 1 and 2), but taking your current (say, 5 mg ) dose on the remaining six days each week.  During the next two weeks (weeks 3 and 4) you take the reduced dose on two days (say Monday and Thursday) and your current dose on the remaining days.  Weeks 5 and 6 you have three days on the reduced dose (say Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and your current dose on the remaining days.  Continuing like this, by weeks 13 and 14 you will have had two weeks entirely on the reduced dose.  You then start your next reduction, on one day, two days, three days etc, taking another 14 weeks to complete this step.  This sounds like a long time but is the only way to minimise (although not entirely eliminate) withdrawal symptoms.  The advantage of this approach is that if withdrawal gets difficult, then you just stay where you have got to on your programme, for an extra week or two, rather than having to go back up.  You then continue down on your problem when things are calmer. Do not attempt to reduce too fast as this will bring back the unbearable physical and emotional problems. 

 

So think about stabilising on a dose even though it doesn't feel good, as stability is the only way for your brain to begin to calm down and the anxiety to ease.  Then when this seems to be working start your reduction.  As there are only two of us working for CITA now, and I work full time elsewhere for CITA in GP practice, our helpline is only available three days per week - Monday, Tuesday and Friday between 10 am and 3 pm and our number is Liverpool 932 0102.  However it is usually busy and getting through can be a problem."

 

Good luck with all of this."

 

Note from moderator: the above tapering advice is from another site and is not the method we recommend here at Surviving Antidepressants.--Rhi

Edited November 25, 2014 by Rhi
Added formatting and a note to make it clear this advice did not come from us

[mammaP]

Trying, please post your updates here in your thread. When you post in here your thread goes to the top of the introduction forum..

 

If you would rather use that support site then please feel free to do so, but we have different ways of dealing with withdrawal.

However we do agree that you need to stick to a dose. Alto suggested 2.5 because you seemed to be having a reaction, You

didn't take that dose for long enough to know if it is right for you.  Going up and down is further destabilising your nervous system. 

Choose your dose, 2.5. 5 or 10. AND STICK WITH IT. No changes, for a few months.I know that is not what the email suggests but

we do things differently here.   

 

This is distressing but you need stability above anything else,  and need to choose your dose AND your support network. You will

stabilise eventually but no one can tell you when, sadly some people take longer than others and we have no way of knowing how

long it will be for you.  

[Altostrata]

trying, please do not start topics in other forums to get attention for your questions here.

 

I have explained over and over what your choices are.

 

If you got a bad result at 10mg, clearly an increase to 10mg is not the right choice.

 

This is an Internet forum run by volunteers. We cannot provide you with the direction you seek here. If you want someone to make decisions for you, you should see a doctor.

[Rhiannon]

Hi TTS, I just added some editing to a previous post of yours because the way it was, somebody could read it and not be clear that it wasn't just a reply from someone here on this forum.

 

Since the method they use is not the way we recommend tapering, that could be pretty confusing for people. So I added some formatting and a note to make it more clear that it's from somewhere else. 

 

It's okay that you posted it, I just wanted to make it a little more clear for other people who might read through your thread.

[Broken]

Antidepressants for anxiety is a terrible idea. There are better ways to manage and eradicate anxiety without the need to introduce an antidepressant.

[tryingtosurvive]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your replies. Sorry that I have been confusing too...I will try to be clearer. And also to write here instead of in the general discussion. Hope you will still se this and be able to answer me soon... I feel like people around me leave due to being scared and by me since I don't know how to act they don't know either ...

I woke up this morning again feeling my heart beeting hard. and restless feeling in all body. I am thinking maybe I should buy some insitol ? It feels rather clear that there ois something in my body not balanced.

I took 5 mg again since yesterday (tryied 10 mg for two days I know its not enough but I just feel worse how ever I do I panic.

Idon't know if I should try the benzo to calm me down ,,, but I heard it will be worse after taking it for a while :/ so I don't dare to do that either ..

my choice is to go to emergency psychiatry and then they will decide for me ...or to stay like this but life is not working and I am not really taking any decisions and  thats making me and others crazy ...

5 mg maybe took away some of the worst shakings and crying that I had as acute WD for a month ... or time did ... not sure which one ...

now after taking 5 mg I still feel anxious.... but then again prozac doesn't really help with anxiousness does it ?

 

I feel like I can't think rationally and act thereafter...I am most likely having anxiety problems in my genetics and maybe emotional instability ... therefore I also wonder if prozac was ever the right medicine for me or IF I should ask for something else for help it should be something else ... what then ?

 

Anyone with anxiety and emotional instability disorder here who knows ?

 

Gratefull to your thoughts!

//

[tryingtosurvive]

about the insitol... I bought a B vitamin complex ... but that contains all b vitamins plus folin so maybe it is to strong ? insitol is maybe better as it is just one supplement ?

I take magnesium too,,, thinking if I shoul buy zink .,,,

what is your advice ?

you who took insitol - how did it help you ?

again grateful to your replies!

//

[moodyblues78]

Hi trying.

 

You are so sensitive right now that experimenting with different supplements at this moment may not be wise. I would stick with what ever dose are on right now with the ad you have and take nothing else until you feel somewhat better and stronger. Just my opinion based on my own experience. 

 

No sugar or alcohol. Taking very sugary food or drink will result in fast drop in blood sugar levels and that causes cortisol surges = panic & anxiety. Try to keep your blood sugar level as stable as possible = eat small amounts often. 

 

If you cannot sleep, relax. Do not monitor your symptoms all the time. Accept all as a part of the process and practice meditative breathing. It will not take the symptoms away but helps to deal with them. Read success stories. Avoid unnecessary stress but do not isolate yourself from the rest of the world. Sooner or later we need to practice life again. 

 

Acceptance and positive self talk are extremely helpful. Smile no matter how bad you feel. In time you`ll see positive results. 

 

It does not matter what in the past triggers you to react this strongly. Only thing that matter is the way you take your current situation. You are on one hell of a ride right now but eventually it will end. You just need a lot of time, acceptance and courage.

 

The most important thing. Stop going up and down with your ad dose. Stay where you are at and forget tapering for now.

 

Br,

Moody

[tryingtosurvive]

If I should reinstate - should I do it as soon as possible ?

Gratefull to your replies!!

//

[moodyblues78]

If I should reinstate - should I do it as soon as possible ?

Gratefull to your replies!!

//

 

Like many here are trying to say: There is no way of knowing what works best for you.

 

Take your pick and stick with it for a long time. That is the only advice that we can give you at this moment. In time things will settle down.

[bubble]

Thank you for writing here in your thread. It is much appreciated. As you can see, we can reply faster than when you post randomly in tapering section.

 

As Moodyblues said, I also think that for you at this moment it is most important to calm down. It is very hard but we all had to accept that for some time we won't be able to function as were able to before our CNS basically got smashed. Did I write about a broken leg comparison? If you broke your leg, would you (and others) expect from you to walk around and do what you did before as if nothing happened? 

 

There are no quick fixes. Nothing you do or take now will make you as functional as you were before. Not only instantly but most likely not some time soon. Any attempts to speed up the process will just prolong the time and make you feel worse. It is not a dose (unless it's very wrong) that helps us recover but stability over time. You have to accept that for a longer time than you would like to you won't feel as functional as you were used to. My experience was that at first I stopped feeling worse. Then gradually I felt tiny bit better. It took me 4 months to stop feeling like a zombie. That experience is not connected with one particular antidepressant. Unfortunately, in this respect they all affect us in the same way.If you read any post on any therad here I'm sure you will find a description of what you are dealing with, irrespective of the drug.  

 

The most you can do for yourself right now is treat yourself as if you had a broken leg: this is not a time to make decisions, especially not important ones. Focus on only minimal and basic functioning. Give yourself this time you need to heal.

 

I am happy to see you posting in a calmer way and believe this reflects a more calmer way of approaching and dealing with your situation. You will be fine but it will be take more time than you would want to.

 

what do you mean by reinstate? 

[tryingtosurvive]

reinstate as if I take back the drug and taper when I am in a more stable situation in life ... that is what I am thinking .. I never should have gotten into this now.

So what do you say about that ?

Cause for me I need to function now or within weeks at least and the exteeme panic I feel everyday is not something I can live with now ,,, so therefore thinking if I can take it back and do the taper another time ...

? In that case I should take it back ASAP right ? maybe like 20 mg or something like that ?